Citizen Spotlight: Sharon Senger

*Sharon Senger is a lifelong learner and educator! (photo S Jason Cole).*

Beloved educator Sharon Senger has had a passion for teaching since she was just a child, and spent more than 50 years in public schools helping to ignite a desire for learning in the youth of our community.

Sharon grew up on a farm outside of Marysville, Kansas, in a small town called Home, where attended a country school and had a knack for teaching from an early age. “I remember when I was three or four, I went to Sunday school and I loved it,” Senger recalled. “When I came home, the neighbor kid came over and I started teaching him Sunday school. The boy’s mom wasn’t happy because they were Catholic, but I didn’t let that stop me,” she laughed. She said she can still remember lining up her dolls and giving them spelling tests and checking off the wrong answers with a red colored pencil.

Sharon went on to study education at Kansas State University. It was there that she met her future husband Phil, who would later land a job at Social Security Administration in downtown Kansas City. Senger’s first year of teaching was in 1969, at a two-story limestone building in Paxico, Kansas, where she taught second grade alongside two Catholic nuns. She recalls that it was a challenging year, with no breaks during the day and every recess and lunch duty falling to her. However, she also remembers the experience as being rewarding, with well-behaved farm kids who were eager to learn.

In 1970 Sharon and Phil moved to Excelsior Springs where Sharon continued her career as a teacher. She began teaching at Westview where she taught first grade for several years, followed by third grade, and at the same time she worked to earn her master’s degree in reading instruction.

*Left to right: Mark, Kurt, Erik, and Susan Mason. Phil and Sharon Senger. Steven Senger, Xime Uribe, and Luka Alfaro (submitted photo).*

Sharon’s dedication to teaching and her passion for helping students overcome reading difficulties led her to become a Title One teacher at Wyman and later at Lewis. She continued to inspire and educate students until her ‘retirement’ in 2000. After retiring from her teaching position, Sharon found herself missing the classroom and the opportunity to work with bright and enthusiastic students. She couldn’t resist the urge to go back and help in any way she could. She continued to work for the Excelsior Springs School District part-time until 2011 when budget cuts forced her to change course once again.

On a short vacation to visit family friends, Sharon had the opportunity to observe a kindergarten classroom where she saw students who were eager to learn but were held back by their peers who needed more time to catch up. Sharon knew she had to do something to help these sharp kids, and that’s when she came up with the idea of an enrichment program.

She borrowed her friend’s computer and typed a letter to the principal at Westview Elementary, proposing an enrichment program for students who just missed the mark for gifted programs but were advanced readers. After working out a curriculum and program with the principal, Sharon started the STAR program, which focused on language arts for kindergarten and first-grade students.

*Sharon loves to read AND write. Here are a couple of poems she’s written about her love of teaching (submitted).*

Despite the program being initially designed for half a day a week, Sharon put a lot of planning and her own money into it. It was clear that this wasn’t just another job for her; it was a passion project that she truly loved. Her dedication paid off, as the program became a huge success, and the principal even proposed expanding it to include grades K-5.

Sharon also loves to travel and she and her husband Phil had many great adventures including memorable trips to China and Great Britain. Unfortunately, Phil passed away last year, but Sharon is determined to keep traveling and exploring new places. She’s planning to go on a Rhine river cruise that she and Phil had planned together and she’s invited her daughter Susan to go along with her. In June she’ll be accompanying her son, Steven on a trip to Vietnam where he will be doing research.

Sharon’s legacy as a beloved and inspiring teacher lives on in the countless students she helped over the years. From her early years on a rural farm to her successful teaching career in Excelsior Springs, Sharon has left an indelible mark on the hearts and minds of generations of students as well as her family and friends.